Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2017
731. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to bring in new measures to tackle social welfare fraud; the nature of these measures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32126/17]
View answerAt the outset, it is important to say that the majority of people in receipt of a payment from my Department receive what they are entitled to. Nevertheless, my Department recognises that abuse of the welfare system is an ongoing reality and must be tackled. Control and anti-fraud measures are set out in the Department’s Compliance and Anti-Fraud Strategy 2014 – 2018 and are designed to prevent, deter and detect fraud and to ensure effective oversight of schemes and recovery of any sums overpaid. The annual control implementation report 2016 and target statement for 2017 is published on the Department’s website – www.welfare.ie.
My Department plans to carry out 950,000 entitlement reviews, inspections and investigations over the course of 2017. The objective is to ensure that each claimant is receiving their full entitlements and that any wrongful claiming is identified. The Deputy will be aware that this work identified some €41 million in fraud overpayments in 2016.
Work will also continue on a number of measures to prevent fraud from entering the social welfare system. The continued roll-out of the Public Services Card has considerably reduced the potential for identity fraud. The use of data analytics software and techniques, improved data-matching capacity and data-sharing arrangements, both internally and with the Revenue Commissioners and with other state agencies, has greatly improved early detection of earnings from sources not reported by claimants to the Department.
A new debt management system became operational at the end of 2014 and has supported the roll-out of improved debt management capacity and the recovery of overpayments. Staff who are engaged in claim reviews and investigations receive training to identify instances of fraudulent claiming. Overall, my Department continues to improve its technical ability to identify risks, to ensure cross-referencing of information held in respect of claimants, to reinforce its fraud prevention work and to use the statutory powers granted to it by the Oireachtas.
Members of the public also play an important role in supporting anti-fraud activities. In the first six months of this year, the Department has received some 11,000 reports from concerned members of the public. The recent fraud awareness campaign has helped to highlight the positive role that members of the public can play in supporting the Department to protect the social welfare system. Since the launch of the campaign on 18 April, the recorded number of reports received has exceeded 6,000 compared to approx. 4,200 for a similar period in 2016.
This year, the Department also expects to finalise fraud and error surveys for the Supplementary Welfare Allowance, Carers’ Allowance and Back to Work Enterprise Allowance schemes and to commence survey work on the State Pension Non-contributory scheme.
Finally, the Deputy will be aware that the recently published Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2017 includes legislative proposals to publish the names of persons who are convicted of social welfare fraud.
Overall, therefore, my Department adopts a range of measures to deter, detect and prevent fraud and these are kept under ongoing review, in light of changing behaviours and patterns.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
